Failure to Return Resident's Personal Belongings Upon Discharge
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to implement its policy regarding resident possessions when it did not return a 42-inch television to the family of a resident upon her discharge. The resident's admission record indicated she was admitted and later discharged from the facility, but her television, which was brought in by her family and mounted by maintenance staff, was not included on her personal belongings inventory. As a result, the television was not listed on the discharge inventory and was not returned to the family. Interviews with the resident's family member and the Social Services Director confirmed that the television was the resident's personal property and that it was not documented on the inventory list, despite being present in the resident's room and previously noted in the facility's Grievance / Theft & Loss Tracking Log. The facility's policy requires all personal belongings to be inventoried and returned upon discharge, but this process was not followed, leading to the family's loss of the television.